Virginia man gets 20 years in US terror probe, two years after Turkey denied entry

ALEXANDRIA

A Virginia man investigated by the FBI after his family reported that he had converted to Islam and may have been radicalized has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, two years after Turkey blocked his entry.

Sean Duncan was sentenced in federal court July 6 in Alexandria. Duncan had pleaded guilty in April to obstruction of a terror probe and receipt of child pornography.

Duncan and his wife were denied entry to Turkey in 2016, according to the Associated Press. Court documents say a relative then approached the FBI saying Duncan espoused radical views, including support of beheadings. Agents also found evidence of child pornography.

When authorities arrived to search his home in Sterling, Duncan fled barefoot, tossing a bag with a thumb drive broken into pieces.

The 22-year-old later admitted that he had espoused support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) since 2015.